Craig Brown praised the fighting spirit of his players after a depleted Aberdeen side travelled to Easter Road and left with all three points.

Niall McGinn scored the only goal of the match 14 minutes from time as the away side moved above Hibernian into second place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Hibs were the superior attacking threat throughout but could not convert their second half dominance into goals.

However, Brown feels it is too simplistic to label his side's victory as "smash and grab".

He said: "I've got to give credit to the team for their battling performance.

"We've come here to a team second in the league without seven of our best players, and then we lose Isaac Osbourne as well. And these aren't just any players, these are first team regulars.

"There were games early in the season where we didn't get what we deserved. The three 0-0 draws earlier in the season where we were utterly dominant and got nothing.

"Hibs put us under pressure in the second half, but there is a good resilience in the squad and a good attitude, so you've got to give credit to Aberdeen and not talk about smash and grab."

Hibs could have moved to the top of the table with a win, after Celtic lost at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, but for manager Pat Fenlon the only disappointing aspect was their failure to take anything from a game they dominated.